Gaming

I thnk I'm just not a big gaming person. Clint and the kids love the Mario Kart racing game. I think it's fun for about 10 minutes. Then I get bored with not being able to stay on the road. My driving sucks.

Rhiannon loves the Game Cube. She is far less into Gameboy Advance than Shelby or Gillian, so it's been interesting to see her so into the Game Cube. I've realized it's because it's social. She plays it as an interaction with several other people, instead of solo like a Gameboy. It makes perfect sense, because she does prefer interacting with others to solo pursuits most of the time.

Rhiannon wanted me to try Mario Party 5, because she knew Kart didn't do much for me. She got a little impatient with me, because I have no interest in playing if it will make the other kids unhappy because they can't play. And EVERYONE wants to play. It's been on pretty much all the time, except when I strongly suggest they take a break.

We sat down last night to play. Shelby graciously sat out so I could play with the other three girls. I liked it much better than the racing game. It reminds me of a 3D Candyland. You move around on spaces like a game board and play lots of mini games that are just a riot. The hardest part is that Tamzin is pretty much never the winner, and she cries about it. I keep trying to deemphasize the winning part, but the other girls get excited to see their skill improving, so they talk a fair amount about how they are doing in comparison to the others. Even Gillian cried last night, after spending much of the game in the lead, she had some unlucky breaks and lost almost everything. It really sucked. Obviously, winning is less about skill and more about chance, but how to help them see that? I can tell them, but it doesn't mean they will accept it.

The other game I tried and liked is Animal Crossing. Unfortunately, only one player at a time can play. Gillian taught me how to play yesterday morning while the others were sleeping. They all woke up and tried to get me to try Party, but I was obsessed with figuring out how to sell my peaches and shells to the storekeeper on Animal Crossing, and told them it was only fair that I get a turn on the Game Cube they'd all been on pretty much non stop!

After they went to bed last night, I played Animal Crossing again while Clint dozed on the couch. But all the Animals went to bed and shut me out of their houses, so I still haven't figured out how to sell my peaches and shells.